hey i posted a thread awhile ago asking for some opinions on what to do to my camaro. alot of people told me to change the engine because a 2.8 is no good. Im a "do it yourself" and like to learn as i go, and am really interested in automotives, so im going to dismantle the car over the course of a few months re-do/ and replace parts and fix it up as a project, what sort of things would be worthwhile changing and or replacing?

also what are some good places to shop around on the net for camaro parts, and is is hard to find used good condition camaro parts online? if not where are some places online i should check out?

rebuilt tranny a month ago so that will stay as is.
going to pull the enging and rebuild
new powersteering system
new cooling system

other suggestions?

 

i post all the time and people always view the topic but never post replies, do people not like suggestion what kind of work less educated people should do on their vehicles?

 

well let me be the first to say that what you replace is what should be needed.. no one can tell you what to replace without knowing the problem.. how do you intend to drive the car?? race it?? just a daily driver/cruiser?? do you want performance?? how is the ride quality?? let the viewers know what you need help with..

if you want my advice, (this is me and only me), swap out that 2.8L for at LEAST a 305 cause its not worth a rebuild if you are not gonna boost it.. replace all the filters: oil, air, fuel.. replace the bushings with poly ones, new shocks and struts, ball joints, strut mounts(if need replace) braided brake lines(if needed), weather stripping(if needed).. stuff like that..

 

How many replies did you expect in half an hour? If you expect service in 30 seconds or less, expect Mcdonalds answers. (hahahaha, hey, i'm keeping that one

Ok, seriously though, don't rebuild a 2.8L, it's a painful way to learn a lesson. The smartest you can be is to learn from OTHER PEOPLES mistakes. It's a very-VERY bad idea, in every way shape and form. Just please, trust me on that one. I can detail out why if you need to know, but it should be fairly obvious.

Junkyards typically have a fair bit of 3rd gens in them, usually V6's, so not a lot of the parts are useful. There are some online junkyards and people on this very board who can sell you their used parts. Classic industries and other places like that usually don't cater to our cars, since they're not considered classics. (yet?).

Summit racing, Jegs, etc, have performance parts. Your local parts store should have most of the basic wear parts in stock.

What parts do you want to replace and why? What you've listed seems like you'll be upgrading the reliability of the car, is that your most prominent goal? Do you want more power? Better cornering? Better braking? Anything specific? I'd recommend the general upgrades like subframe connectors, polyurethane bushings, maybe new steering components to tighten up the car.

Then of course more cubic inches under the hood.

 

hoping to just improve the car overall and in general, to have as a daily cruise car for the summer, i live in canada, so alot of the parts seem harder to come by in my town the wreckers dont have much in the way of thirdgens at all. in my camaro right now though would i need to put a new subframe in if i were to drop in a 305? and would id be a huge hassel or a much bigger job?

if thats the case then i think in the summer i will just go get an engine mount and a 305 and rebuild it and start from there than.

I have a few good friends who have rebuilt engines, and are willing to give me a hand, me myself i have never rebuilt one. Is it going to be an job that will be to complicated for me to do, or will it just take some time and some reading?

 

Putting a 305 in wouldn't be worth the time. If you're going to put the effort in to do a V8 swap, it might as well be a 350 or better.

 

want to keep a smaller engine if im going to be drving it on a daily basis, thats why i was even considering a 2.8 and reduilding it but people tell me a 2.8 isnt anygood, why is that?

 

You could rebuild your 2.8. It depends what you want out of the car. If you're interested in performance, then it doesn't make sense to start with a small engine. If mileage is more of a concern than power, then keeping the V6 might not be a bad idea. It would be less complicated than a V8 swap, and you'd get to reuse your transmission.

Most of us here are biased towards performance, and that means large V8 engines.

 

If you get a JY engine, might as well go for a 3.1. I know there is a 3.4l GM crate engine that can be put in place of a 2.8, but not sure if it was offered in any production vehicles.

 

I think a sports car like a camaro, with a V6 (aside from the turbo 3.8L) is a waste of metal.
A 350 can be daily driven just fine, you don't have to work it as hard to get it to go fast, so it's actually not that bad on fuel - assuming you don't build a 400HP motor.

Rebuilding a V6 is just silly. The car has virtually no value after, because it's still a V6 car. All money dropped into the engine is basically thrown away. I highly recommend avoiding this route completely.

A 305 can be dropped in as is, from an LG4 vehicle. Maybe a few mods to it, but again, don't bother modifying (rebuilding) the bottom end. The glass ceiling is just too low on it. If you're going to rebuild the whole thing, go for a 350. More options, more power, etc etc.

If you're in Canada, why not put your location in your user info, the rest of us Canadians might be able to give you some specific info on sourcing certain parts - small world after all. Chances are someone here lives near you, and is on this board.

Rebuilding a motor takes a bunch of tools that you'll need to buy, and some time and some reading. Not as hard as it may sound right now. I got into this hobby at the date you see on my join date there in the sidebar. I was green as grass for my first post. I've rebuilt my 350 all by my lonesome, last winter.

 

good to hear, and yea the transmission is brand new with the 2.8 so i dont wanna have to spend a bunch on a new tranny too, i guess some might think its a waste of metal, but im gunna take my 2.8 out and work on it in the summer to start. where would you guys suggest getting overhaul/rebuild kits from? and are there different types of kits?

 

You should be able to get all the parts you'll need at whatever local parts stores you have nearby.

 

okay and im on a semi limited budget, and basically need to buy alot of tools, what sort of tools should i invest in first off? i have wrenches sockets ratchets and all that, but i dont have specific tools that are required to remove an engine, and such, and dont know what they all are.

 

There is where my milage went...

 

Mostly you'll need basic hand tools. A stock rebuild doesn't have to require much in the way of exotic measuring tools, except for a torque wrench. An engine stand is a lot nicer than trying to wrestle the block around on a bench. For the actual removal and installation of the engine, you should be able to rent a hoist for a day each time.

 

Hey there;

Glad to see you're taking this project on yourself. I've got my own hands full for this spring...replacing my clutch and driveshaft..that'll be fun hehe

As for your question, a 2.8L is not the best motor out there, but if you're on a limited budget, then it might be worth the time to rebuild it just so you have a place to start. Rebuild kits are around $500.

A good upgrade from the 2.8 is the 3.1 that was offered in the later third gen cars. Same size engine externally, just a bit larger inside, in terms of displacement, and you'll have no problem lining up bolts to install it

The only problem you'll encounter is the performance aspect of rebuild. With the V6, you're limited in what you can do, in terms of aftermarket parts. The 2.8/3.1 V6 isnt a popular engine to mod, and because of that, the aftermarket parts will be limited, if any. If you are to keep the V6, I would switch over to Carburetor, simply because I know Edlebrock has a 2.8/3.1 V6 Performer intake manifold. You can probably find headers somewhere, and if you're lucky, a camshaft. Mind you, the parts will probably be expensive simply because there is no real mass amount of V6 parts.

The other option you have, like previously mentioned, is to swap out to a V8.
In order to swap to a V8, you're going to need some parts from the V8 car.
Specifically the motor mounts, bell housing, transmission, transmission mounts, wireing from the V8..and a few more things that I can't recall at this point in time hehe.

Of course, you will see performance gains with a larger engine, but it will cost you a bit of cash in parts as you can see.

Mabey for now, stick with the V6 rebuild, then slowly get the V6 parts I mentioned, and once you're able to purchase all these components, go ahead with the V8 upgrade.

For tools, you're lookin at...

Rachet set
Torque Wrench
Piston Ring compressor
Wrench set
Plasiguage (used to check clearence with journals)
Engine hoist
Engine stand
Varsol (to clean up the oil on the engine)
Flathead screwdriver/scraper (to remove old gaskets)
Camshaft removing tool (the name slips my mind..help?)

I think that's about it..?

-OSS

 

The 3.4 was the standard V6 for the first few years of the fourth gen coupes. Advertised power ratings were 160 HP/200 FT-LBs, IIRC. I used to average close to 30 MPG in my '94. If I had a 2.8 and wanted to stay V6 that's the way I would go. Bet one would fly in a Fiero too. Too bad I've only got so much driveway space...

 

That's exactly it. Make sure you price out your V6 rebuild carefully. The parts aren't as common because nobody wants to rebuild a V6, so the V8 parts can be CHEAPER.

 

He doesn't have a V8 transmission, so V6 rebuild parts are going to have to be real expensive to cost more than a V8 swap.

 

I didn't mean cost more than a V8 swap, I just meant cost more than a V8 rebuild. Just talking rebuild vs rebuild. The "little details", like a tranny, motor mounts etc, those are all in the budget of "I want to go faster". The other back pocket with all the cash in it

 

You need to stop now if you're rebuilding your 2.8...

Trust me; any 2.8 built before 1986 has bad factory oiling problems in the crankshaft and the engine block. The 2.8 / 3.1 / 3.4 engines made after 1987 are all good to go and my last 3.1 from 1990 went 248,000 miles before I sold it to a guy with a blown up carbureted 2.8 S-10 truck.

If you are on a budget then you need to start with a 2.8 / 3.1 / 3.4 long block (that's the block with cylinder heads still bolted on) from either a Camaro, Firebird, or S-truck. All of your distributor and Carburetor stuff will bolt on, along with your oil pan, so that it goes back together great!

Good luck on your adventure!!

 

one more vote for a 3.4.
The 3.4 drops right in (needs to be from a 4th gen camaro) . Then, you simply attatch your stock mpfi intake and use the 3.4 injectors. The stock computer tuning will run the 3.4 just fine.

 

I suppose we should all admit that we don't know that this engine needs to be rebuilt. From other posts by the originator, I'd guess you've got problems that a rebuild wouldn't fix.

For the record, this is an '82 with a carb. That's what mine started life as. Inadequate antifreeze and the subsequent cracked block did it in. When looking for a replacement, I came across two possibilities: 1) an '86 V6 car, $400 for the engine, $800 for the car; 2) sitting next to it, an '86 V8 car, $400 for the engine or $800 for the car. Both cars were totalled, one T-boned, the other (the V8 car) rear ended.

I chose Door #2, and don't regret it. But, the best way to get the fuel economy of the V6 and still have it able to get out of its own way is with a 5 speed manual tranny. And, EFI will improve both the MPG and GOOIOW issues. Of course, that takes a lot of the originator's motivations out of the picture.

 

okay if i were to get a different engine, it would still be a v6, and if i went with a 3.4l i would have to get it out of a fourth gen camaro, and that car only, or will other cars have the same engine?

what excatly should i ask for when looking for this engine, just a chevy v6 3.4?

what someone said about engines before 87 being no good in the 2.8/3.1/3.4 catagories, is there any truth to that?

where would you call to rent an engine hoist for a day, and how much do they charge roughly?
would parts for a 3.4 be more common than a 2.8?

 

If you are hunting in wrecking yards then you are looking for a 3.4 V6 from a 1993 through 1995 Camaro or Firebird... no other cars had this engine in this configuration and this is the only drop in configuration...

I was the one who talked about the pre 87 60* V6 engines and I am going off of my V6 manuals from the 90's and my experience working at Advance Auto in the past... If you have those guys look up bearing and engine part numbers you will see what I mean with the number of changes taking place...

The last time I rented an engine hoist I got it from the guy who rents large tools (like concrete saws and road warning signs) to contractors... they are in the yellow pages under "rental equipment"

 

what if i wanted to drop a 3.1 in?

 

That's 90, 91, or 92 Camaro or Firebird...

90 or 91 Isuzu Rodeo...

 

There was a certain 1980 Citation in my family from the dealer lot through about a quarter milliion miles. We never knew for sure how far it went because the speedometer quit at about 245k, and my brother who had it at the time didn't bother to fix it. I drove it from 110k to 220k, it survived a broken oil pump (literally) at 150k. The car fell off from around the engine when he finally had it towed away.

But, I don't know the details about the transverse vs. longitudinal engine configuration differences, if any. Also don't know what they did to them between 1980 and 1982. This one had AMSOIL synthetic oil in it from 65k to its demise, FWTW.

I wouldn't be surprised that they improved things along 1987, though.